Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 21, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba C2 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMTUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2025 Another sign of the centre’s success is the sea of Jets jerseys hanging from the gym rafters, each sporting the number one and a myr- iad of last names. “Those 120 Jets sweaters that hang in the gymnasi- um — each of those represents one year of sobriety for the guy whose name is on the back of the sweater,” Oake says. “In many cases, those guys now have more than one year… a lot of those sweaters are the differ- ence between life and death.” ● ● ● In For the Love of a Son, Oake also chronicles the difficult time leading up to the centre’s opening, when Anne was diagnosed with primary biliary cholangitis, a disease where the immune system attacks the liver. She died in September 2021 at age 65. “I sat at this very table with Michael, and that was one of the chapters we wrote when he was here, telling the story of Anne and her passing, and I was sobbing,” he says. Anne’s legacy lives on. In Sep- tember 2024, ground was broken on the 70-bed Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre, a $25-million facility for women to be located near the Victoria Hospital. Oake and the foundation have once again launched a capital campaign to move the proj- ect forward, which is now past the halfway point. This time, Oake anticipates less pushback and fewer hurdles in getting the facility up and running. “The Bruce Oake Recovery Centre is a proven entity — our message is that women deserve the same opportunity,” he says, adding that the Anne Oake centre will have space for mothers and their children because “a lot of women are reluctant to go into recovery… they’re afraid they’re going to lose their kids. It’s important for the Anne Oake Family Recovery Centre to offer the opportunity for families to be kept together.” In December 2024, Oake was made a member of the Order of Canada as both a “dedicated advocate for addiction recovery” and as a “distin- guished sports broadcaster for CBC Sports, Sportsnet and Hockey Night In Canada.” Oake credits the work of the foundation and those at the recovery centre for the nod. “I’m proud of my career, but I’m smart enough to know that this has more to do with advocacy for treat- ment and recovery than it does with broadcasting,” he says. “I’m ada- mant that the Order of Canada, as it applies in this case, is for everyone at the Bruce and Anne Oake Founda- tion, starting with and right down to the participants here. “These guys come and do the work, they make this place a suc- cess. They reclaim their lives.” ben.sigurdson@freepress.mb.ca @bensigurdson MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Scott Oake was named to the Order of Canada last month. SCOTT OAKE ● FROM C1 ARTS ● LIFE I ENTERTAINMENT Sum 41 singer says he’s ready to defend memoir in court after legal notices filed TORONTO — Sum 41 lead singer Deryck Whibley says he’s prepared to battle in Ontario court with his former manager over their sexual relation- ship, which he alleges took advantage of him as a rising young musician. The allegations against Greig Nori surfaced last fall in Whibley’s memoir where he wrote that his one-time man- ager pressured him into a relationship. Nori, frontman of 1990s rock band Treble Charger, calls Whibley’s claims “a lie,” saying their relationship was consensual, shared between two adults, and that Whibley pursued him. None of the accusations have been tested in court. Earlier this month, both sides filed notices with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice intending to sue. First, Nori filed alleging damages from Whibley and his publishers for libel, while Whibley retorted with his own notice, alleging damage to his reputation for being called a “liar.” The notices moved them a step closer to having their dispute heard by a judge. Nori did not respond to a request for comment made by email and phone to his lawyers. In an interview ahead of Sum 41’s final string of shows, Whibley said he’s “got nothing to hide at this point” and stands by what he said in the book. “I’m willing to go down any road, especially when I have the truth on my side,” he said Sunday in call from Win- nipeg where his band has a tour stop. The pop-punk musician first outlined the allegations in “Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell,” published in October by Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, sparking an immediate denial from Nori who said he was blindsided by the accusations shortly before the memoir hit shelves. According to the book, Nori be- friended Whibley after he snuck into a Treble Charger show, later becoming a mentor and ultimately Sum 41’s man- ager early in their career. When Whibley turned 18, he says their platonic friendship turned sexual when Nori, in his mid-30s at the time, kissed him in a bathroom stall at a warehouse party while they were high on ecstasy. He wrote that a power imbalance intensified as Sum 41 saw commercial success with Nori as their manager. Whibley alleged that when he at- tempted to end their sexual ties, Nori became verbally abusive. Nori wrote in a statement at the time of the book’s release that “the accusation that I pressured Whibley to continue the relationship is false.” On Jan. 3, Nori filed a notice of ac- tion in Toronto seeking damages from Whibley and Simon & Schuster LLC for libel as well as “damages for breach of confidence, intrusion upon seclusion, wrongful disclosure of private facts, and placing the plaintiff in a false light.” Whibley responded on Jan. 7, filing a notice of action against Nori seeking “general damages” that he says he sus- tained because Nori publicly accused him of “being a liar,” and made allega- tions and statements that were “false and/or inaccurate and would tend to lower the reputation of the plaintiff.” Sum 41 was founded in Ajax, Ont. and rose to popularity in the early 2000s with hits that included “In Too Deep,” “Makes No Difference” and “Fat Lip.” The band is approaching the last dates on their farewell tour with two final shows in Toronto on Jan. 28 and 30. They’ll be inducted into the Cana- dian Music Hall of Fame at the Juno Awards in March. Part of the wind-up of Whibley’s band included publishing his memoir, which reflected on the meteoric rise that was propelled at least partly by Nori. Not sharing his relationship with Nori in the pages of his book seemed impossible, explained Whibley. He said those secret experiences had been wearing away on him for years. “I said yes to writing a memoir about my life. Well, here’s my life,” he said on Sunday. “I don’t know how you would not tell some of those stories. It was so inter- twined with the band. It’s not just this side thing that happened — he was our manager (and) producer. “It’s what the songs are about. It’s the struggle through making those re- cords. All of that is wrapped up in it.” Whibley didn’t necessarily expect his dispute with Nori to escalate to a possible court showdown, he said. But he also hadn’t ruled it out. “If it went that far — to go to a court, a judge and jury — like, great. I’m fine with that. It’s perfect,” he said. “To me, the world is already the judge and jury. I just put it out there.” — The Canadian Press DAVID FRIEND PHOTOS BY JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS Energetic Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley has a larger-than-life stage presence. Winnipeg fans treated to celebration of pop-punk vets Farewell all killer, no filler A S the temperature outside ap- proached -41 C with the wind- chill, a rowdy crowd gathered at Canada Life Centre on Monday for a nostalgic farewell to pop-punk outfit Sum 41. Formed in 1996, the band of snot- nosed suburban youths from Ajax, Ont., found a global audience in the angsty days of the early aughts. In 2023, Sum 41 announced it was dis- banding following the release of its final album and one last world tour. If Deryck Whibley, Dave Baksh, Tom Thacker, Jason McCaslin and Frank Zummo are weary from a long year on the road with Tour of the Setting Sum, they didn’t let on. The band — including Whibley in a black tank and his signature blonde spikes — came out swinging and continued thrashing through its well- known catalogue for a riotous, occa- sionally emotional send-off. If you listened to any amount of Top 40 radio or watched any modicum of music television in the 2000s, you’ve heard Sum 41. Like the title of its debut album, All Killer No Filler, the band has churned out dozens of catchy, era-defining songs. Monday’s setlist paid fitting homage to the last 30-odd years and gave the audience ample opportunity to sing along to longtime favourites, such as Motivation, Underclass Hero and Some Say. (There was also a brief Metallica cover, which was well-received but felt like an odd interlude choice.) Minor attention was paid to newer releases, including Heaven x Hell; the band’s eighth and final album that aims to capture the full spectrum of Sum 41 sounds — from its energetic, pop-punk beginnings to its later heavy metal leanings. The album’s name also nods to Whibley’s recently released memoir, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hell, in which the lead singer details a difficult childhood, a tumultuous rise to fame and allega- tions of sexual abuse levelled against former manager Greig Nori. Monday, however, was a celebration of Sum 41’s public career. An end-of- an-era gift to fans. The party was set against a tower- ing physical backdrop made to look like old show posters and under a dizzying light show. A giant, inflatable middle-finger-wielding skeleton rose from the back of the stage. While some bands save the special effects for the finale, the fireballs and smoke and balloons and confetti were flying early and often. Notably, there wasn’t a video screen in sight, but Whibley, and his larger- than-life stage presence, had no trou- ble holding the audience’s attention. At press time, the lead singer was caught in a rare moment of stillness, performing Pieces from a centre-stage piano, before launching into the swirl- ing anti-authoritarianism of Fat Lip. Canadian punk contemporaries Gob kicked things into gear with an opening set laden with F-bombs and localized crowd engagement. The Juno-nominated band from Langley, B.C. — which includes Sum 41 guitarist Tom Thacker as lead vocalist — demanded hand clapping and “booty shaking,” while reminiscing between songs about playing in Winnipeg at the Royal Albert Arms in the ’90s. Gob spun through several early 2000s hits, such Give up the Grudge and I Hear You Calling, before relin- quishing the stage to PUP — an irrev- erent, and slightly more contemporary, punk rock foursome from Toronto. The band released its first self-titled album in 2013 and has since been twice shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize. Although not used to playing in “big ol’ hockey arenas,” PUP inspired the first of many mosh pits with a fun, fast-paced setlist, including 2022’s To- tally Fine and Paranoid — a brand new single that’s apparently been a beast to play live. “We nailed it,” reported lead singer Stefan Babcock. Between the banter, behind-the-head guitar playing and mile-high verticals, they sure did. From the openers to the main event, Monday was a fun showcase of approachable Canadian punk anthems old, new and timeless. The crowd was equally multi-generational, filled with many first-wave fans and their kids — a cohort of young listeners who can now say they saw Sum 41 live for the last time. The band plays five more shows before taking its final bow in Toronto on Jan. 30. Sum 41 is set to be inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame at the 2025 Juno Awards in March. eva.wasney@winnipegfreepress.com EVA WASNEY CONCERT REVIEW Sum 41 with PUP and Gob ● Canada Life Centre ● Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 ● Attendance: 7,500 ★★★★½ out of five Monday’s setlist gave the audience ample opportunity to sing along to old favourites. ;